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A little bit of knowledge goes a long way…especially when it comes to prayer and Scripture.

In fact, you don’t need to have any hardcore theological training or lots of letters after your name to get a lot out of prayer. That said, actually studying the Bible – what Pope Benedict XVI calls the “soul of theology” – will put your prayer life on steroids (which is still legal).

And a key to understanding Scripture is known as typology. (“Ty-what?”) Typology is a 25 cent word that shows how the people, places and events of the Old Testament point forward to the people, places, and events of the New Testament.

It shows connections.

In this episode of The Art of Catholic, I share a personal experience from my meditations the other day in my parish’s adoration chapel. I thought it a good example of how making connections (i.e. typology) in Scripture can really juice up your time with Our Lord.

In this mini-cast, I’ll focus in on the 5th Joyful Mystery (The Finding of Jesus in the Temple) and discuss:

Parallels between Jesus and Solomon

The importance of the theme of wisdom

Connections between Our Lady and the Queen of Sheba

The different levels of meaning of Temple and why Jesus went there as a 12 year old

Why the Magi brought Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh

Happy Advent! Merry (Almost) Christmas! Happy (Almost) New Year!

Matthew

Want to go deeper into prayer. If you really want to understand the ins-and-outs of deep prayer: what it is, how to do it, the 3 Stages of the Spiritual Life, vocal, meditative, & contemplative prayer in the Catholic tradition – this is the book for you!

What does the spiritual life of a ninja blackbelt surfer look like? The answer might surprise you. (The dude quotes Aquinas, for crying out loud.)

Join me for the conclusion of my conversation with adventurer and EWTN radio host Bear Woznick. We’re getting deeper into the practicalities of meditative prayer and the overall trajectory of the spiritual path for Catholics. But that’s not all.

A big part of the discussion centers around what it means to actually “let go and let God,” and what happens when you do. (You’ll even hear how in the world I ended up on a mountain in Guatemala three months after leaving the corporate world.)

We’ll also dissect something a lot of Catholics have never heard of, called penal substitution. It’s the theory of salvation that Bear and I used to hold as Protestants, but makes no sense of the Cross or human suffering.

God bless and enjoy!

Matt

P.S. Don’t let Lent just slide by. Grab it by the horns! Click the link to get a free, short chapter from my book Louder Than Words. It’s called Beer, Chocolate & Value-Added Sufferingand it will transform your perspective on Lent and the whole spiritual life!

Teresa of Avila is one of greatest spiritual theologians in the history of the Church. In fact, this 16th century Spanish mystic is the “Doctor of Prayer”.

Join me in discussion with Dr. Anthony Lilles about the spiritual legacy of this dynamite Carmelite nun on her 500th anniversary.

But this episode isn’t all history. Not even close. The spiritual life is meant to be practiced! And nobody is more practical than St. Teresa of Avila. So listen up and be transformed!

God bless!

Matthew

Oh yeah…PLEASE head over to iTunes and leave the show a rating! Doing so helps promote the podcast and gets Catholic material in front of people who may never otherwise be exposed to the faith. Thank you!

“All who have been lost were lost because they did not pray.” St. Alphonsus Liguori.

ABOUT ME

I am an author, speaker, podcaster, Vice President and Executive Producer at the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology. I’m married to a beautiful woman named Veronica with whom I have six children (so far…she’s 10 years younger so you never know).